Russia may like to present itself as a strong and secure country, but when it comes to cyber-security, president Vladimir Putin comes up well short.

As The Guardian reveals, images released by the Kremlin in November show president Putin sitting at his desk during a video conferencing session with the WorldSkills Union. On his desk is a monitor which is hooked up to a computer running Windows XP. You can tell it's XP from taskbar design and color, and independent Russian news website Open Media confirmed that his PC is definitely running the ancient OS.

Windows XP is now 18 years old and is definitely not suitable for accessing the internet securely, even if you do live in a country that can disconnect from it. Even so, you have to wonder if Putin hasn't upgraded because he doesn't want to embrace Windows 10, or if he simply doesn't use a computer and the PC has just been there for a decade or more. The monitor does suggest it's not that old, though.

If an upgrade is going to happen, it won't be to Windows 10 and it's very unlikely Putin and the Kremlin would embrace the Mac. Instead, Astra Linux would be the most likely candidate. It was developed to serve as the operating system for the Russian army, armed forces, and intelligence agencies, and therefore seems like a perfect fit for the president. It's already certified for use for top secret data.